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So... hello again. It has been... quite a while since I have done a blog post. If memory serves, it was sometime near the beginning of May. Yikes.
A lot has happened. I took a new job that started in May, landing me overseas working as a medic. Yes, it is as cool as it sounds. No, it is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds. And no, not nearly as busy as running county based 911... but definitely as challenging mentally. Its been a unique adjustment and I've met and worked with some lovely

The month of May has been... well, a whirlwind is one way of putting it. I have been trying to wrap my brain around what is happening, trying to absorb as much as I possibly can. The result is a mental "deer in the headlights" feeling. It isn't a feeling of panic, just an overpowering sense of being slightly overwhelmed and trying to take in as much information as possible while trying to maintain a sense of "normal" and "grounded."
The new adventure has been low-key in regards to work.

This post has been a long, LONG time in coming.
My apologies. I have owed you ALL some explanation for why there has been a 5 month hiatus from the blog. And somehow that made it harder to get started. There has been a LOT going on in the time I've taken a break. Last fall, my sister and I went to San Francisco, and it was a blast. I hugely enjoyed my time there. And then in December, I went with my baby brother, my best friend and HER baby brother (who might as well be MY baby brother

Hello everyone. I kind of took December off. In case you were wondering if I was ever coming back... Well, I'm back. December was a very full month for me. I got to take a vacation full of hiking and adventures and best friend time. I worked what felt like non-stop for the rest of the month, including some very long holiday hours. I walked up my driveway from December 13 (the day I got home from vacation) until December 25. I started a diet -- am still currently working through that

Thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays for... well, ever. I can't remember a year where we didn't spend the holiday with family. I've been blessed beyond belief to not have to work on Thanksgiving for my entire working career. This was the year that changed.
I work in EMS and Fire. We are never guaranteed to have the holiday off to spend with family. That's part of the deal. We never close, so... someone is working and away from home on every holiday and special day

This November, my sister and I took off and went to San Francisco. We actually flew out the day after the elections... which proved to be... INTERESTING... to say the least. Leaving politics aside, it was a grand adventure. We had good traveling experiences on the way out, a few headaches that my sister's blood pressure could probably STILL be elevated by mentioning (to say nothing of my own!)... but all in all, it worked out well.
I was able to connect with a friend I made on my trip to

Okay. I just realized I have been doing a massive stint of procrastination on my blog post writing. I have been hung up on posting daily, because that is what I had in my head I wanted to do. I write more often than once a week. The challenge of writing more frequently has been a good one... but I feel it is time to admit that my life, between LIFE, trying to sleep, work EMS and Fire jobs, go on adventures, READ, and maybe sleep some more... writing a blog post isn't happening.
I don't

Balance is something I can't seem to find often. I try and try and try... but at the end of the day, the balance between work and time off, time with family and time alone, time working on writing projects and time spent DOING things... it never seems to quite add up to an equal sum.
What I have found, is that instead of the "descent into madness" and the "heights of exultation," I have the steadiness of walking through life's challenges and through the joys. I'm not really one for living in

Today was that day... warmer by far than this time of year should be. I was working at the fire department. Morning training -- EVOC (emergency vehicle operations course) power point lecture -- was cancelled due to technical details. (The inter-departmental comm system was... non-operational, to nobody's surprise – it has been marginally operational only half the time lately.)
That left the morning for cleaning the station, running an errand (out to repairman to switch out the battered

Made 4 Him

Made 4 Him is the blog I started this January, and I would like to welcome you to the adventure.

I have one goal: to carry the presence of Christ with me wherever I go, to reflect Christ in all I do, and worship Him with my life. I was made for a purpose, with a grand and glorious adventure ahead of me. I believe God gave us LIFE, and He intends us to have life to the FULL.

My purpose and goal in writing and hosting a blog is simply to glorify Him. Why do I write? Because that's what He created me to do. I can't NOT write.

Writing is the way I can share the things God is showing me, teaching me and encouraging me as I walk. Hebrews 10:23-25 comes to mind: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (ESV)

I want my writing to encourage others and build them up in Christ. As a writer, I am a signpost pointing back to Christ, always being ready to answer those who want to know more about the hope that I cling to.

I want every bit of my writing, from humor about EMS scenarios or sharing about my writing process to have that overarching theme -- my faith may not be defined and stated in each line, but it is part of the fabric of who I am, so much so that there can be no doubt about who I serve or where I stand.

My blog doesn't have a simple topic I am writing about, because life isn't simple. I'm not a machine that only can function and complete one task. He created me to be a writer, but He also has placed me in a position to serve Him as a paramedic and a firefighter. He is challenging me physically with running, swimming and biking. He has blessed me with opportunities to travel.

In the Old Testament it talks about the the words of God's commandments being on your heart, taught to your children... talked of as you sit at home, as you walk along the roads, when you rise up and when you lie down, written on your doorposts and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6) This is how my faith should be, and everything flows out as an extension of my faith.

My blog is about the journey and the adventure He is taking me on, the situations and people and lessons I am learning as I go.I believe writing should make a difference, be meaningful, to have a purpose. Sometimes, that purpose is simply to fulfill the calling placed on my life. It is a way to process and understand what He is sharing with me. It is a way for me to document the mile stones along my path in following Him, so I can look back and see where I have walked.

And at the end of the day... my hope and my passion is that everything in my life would glorify Christ.